Day 13: It's time to get back to IOWA

Yes, I need to get back to the good old midwest!  Tomorrow I leave for the airport in the morning, and leave Helsinki at 2:30pm.  And you know what's strange-  I get into Chicago at 3:30pm.  I am going to be so confused with the time...
This has been such a great experience, such a busy week since I last wrote...how to capture it all?

I will start where I left off , I suppose- last Sunday in Hanko.  We went over to Filip's sister's house, which is right in town.  She also works at Genencor, in the lab.  Her and her boyfriend actually served something quite 'American' for dinner- soft shell tacos!  I can't say that I'm complaining.  I also got to try some spiked Cider, something I wish we drank more in the states!  After dinner, we were offered to take a Sauna.  Yes, a Sauna- kind of like the ones we have poolside or at the healthclub- but here they are a way of life. 
With the extreme cold temperatures in the winter, the extreme warmth of the Sauna is a must- the Fins invented Saunas and most have them in their homes.  Although I was skeptical, I did not want to turn down an experience that I might not normally get to have...
Typically this is something you do with your own gender.  You remove your clothes, take a quick shower, and then sit in the sauna for 10-15 minutes. In the sauna, hot rocks are occasionally splashed with water to produce steam, it hits you like a wave!  Afterwards, another cool shower, and typically a cold beverage outside.  So, I took a Sauna with Linda, Filip's sister.  She made a somewhat awkward experience very comfortable, and I actaully enjoyed myself very much.  You feel SO refreshed when you come out, it's a similar feeling to when you wake up after a very good night's sleep.  I could get used to doing this after work in the Iowa winter!

On Monday the GGRT meeting started at work, and I met people who work for Genencor from all over the world.  The leader of the group is Sanna, a tiny, spunky Finnish woman who just recently returned from her 15 month maternity leave (!).  In general all of the discussions went really well.  I also learned another thing about Finnish culture that I LOVE- all the coffee breaks!  Everyday at 9am and 2pm eveyone stops working and goes to the cafeteria to drink a nice fresh cup of coffee.  Amazing idea in my opinion!  The cafeteria in the plant actually served quite delicious food.  Everyday there was a different type of potato (a staple in Finland!) and some type of pancake with Jam.  I have tried many interesting types of Jam since I have been here...Lignomberry and Golden Berry are both quite delicious.

The first night we all went bowling after work and had dinner&drinks at the local pub.  I have not learned many Finnish words- but Filip taught me how to order this delicious drink called cranberry Longero.  It has some sort of Gin, and tastes like cranberry juice.  My Finnish vocabulary now has two words: Longero, Kiitos!  (which means thank you.) 

The next day after work we went on a boat tour out on the Baltic.  There were no seals (bummer!), but we saw some very neat things.  We stopped out on some of the rocky islands south of Hanko.  On a summer day, you might stop and picnic here. (how cool!)  It was cold and windy- somewhat dangerous on the rocks (which was really ironic because we had a DuPont rep with us!).  We learned a lot about the history of Hanko, and the wars that took place on the Baltic.  The island we visited was a historical landmark becuase soliders carved into the rock when they were camped there in the 16th and 17th centuries.  See if you can make out any of the writing from my pictures...We also stopped on an island that used to ba a fortress during one of the wars.  There is a gorgeous old lighthouse there.

After this, we ate at this amazing restaurant called Origo right on the sea.  Inside, the walls are made of the same stone found in the sea, and the ledges are filled with candles and wax dripping down the walls.  So unique and tranquil.  Pictures dont do it justice but here is the table we sat at:

The food was amazing and unique, and a different wine was served with every course.  A type of beet soup for a starter, wild crow for the main entree with a mushroom risotto, and creme brulee for desert.  Thank you Genencor is all I have to say!  We actually came back here the next night (just Filip/Osvaldo/I), and I had a steak which was also fantastic.  Here is a picture of the cold fish bar here, another Finnish custom:

I didn't partake in this one ;)

The last few days have been quieter, but still busy with work.  We followed our agenda pretty closely and managed to get most of the report written.  I have SO much to bring back to Cedar to improve the process, I was learning from the Pros :)

Last night we went to dinner at Filip's parents' house.  As you might have gathered, he grew up in Hanko and his family still lives here.  The house itself was something out of a novel,  a wooden house in the middle of the woods, with a generous yard and abundant garden.  They have a dozen apple trees, blueberry bushes and a small greenhouse with tomatoes and berries.  When we pulled up, you could smell dinner- fresh salmon grilled on an open fire.  We went into the root cellar to pick out our drinks-beer from Belgium.  The cellar was amazing- inside they have huge baskets full of recently harvested onions, carrots, and potatoes and a stockpile of jellies and jams made fresh from berries picked right outside.  Dinner was delicious.  His parents didn't speak much English but were very kind all the same.  They had gotten some Coke for me (apparently this is related to being American!) which actually tastes much different from the Coke in the US.  The best part was dessert, homemade blueberry and raspberry pie.

Our last day of work at the plant was short&sweet.  It has been storming all afternoon...the waves on the sea are incredible!  I need to begin packing soon so that I can start my journey home. 

This experience has really opened my eyes to a lot of things, and I can't wait to travel more in the future (with my amazing fiance of course!)  I have definitely found new meaning to these lyrics:

My life is open wide, the more you live the less you will die

Outside floating free, I'm finally open to see...

Really our world is an amazing place. 

See you back in Iowa!

<>

Hanko- 'The Sunny South of Finland'

I have been lucky enough to expereince some of the sunny days of the south of Finland, so beautiful- so much to write about.  Where to begin....

My first morning in Hanko, I left the hotel and went walking around town about 9am.  It was a gorgeous morning here, crisp and cool but with the warm sun on my face as I walked to the sea.  The walk isnt far, maybe a quarter mile.  On the way, I passed this church up on the bluff.

This picture captures the bluffs, sand and sea...very beautiful as the sun was still rising over the water.  The town of Hanko is more popular in the summer months (June/July/Aug) when it does get warmer here.  As I was walking, I saw very few people...just a few other enjoying the morning as I was.

This is an example of an older villa on the Baltic that you might stay in if you come to visit in the summer, the villa maija. 

We went to work around noon on this day, the plant is about 10 minutes from my hotel.  Being that it was Saturday, there weren't many people at the plant, but we settled in to work in this room.  You climb up to it on a wooden spiral staircase (reminds me of a tree-house!). 

 Beautiful views made for a great first day of work in Hanko.  We toured the plant, and then spent some time working on our report.  Here I am on the roof of the plant- so gorgeous I didn't want to get down...

But I had to. and this is how you do....yikes!

There are many spiral staircases at this plant....just don't look down. 

We quit working about 5:00 pm, and Filip invited us to take a boat ride on the Baltic to watch the sunset.  He asked us as if we might not want to go...! No question.

Here is the boat...

& some pictures of the harbour and the sunset....a great evening so far!

Then we ate dinner sea-side at an amazing restaurant.  I was daring and got the sampler platter for an appetizer...it was prepared beautifully and tased quite good with a glass of red wine from Spain:

All in all another great day of travels.  I am trying to enjoy every minute of the culture, without losing too much sleep.  I'm going on only a few hours...so good night!  Tomorrow I might tell you the story of my first Finnish Sauna, which I took after dinner tonight :)

Destination #2: Hanko, Finland

I watched the sunrise in Madrid this morning!  For all of you in the states, the sun came up on this last day of September seven or so hours ago, but I took this picture at right before midnight your time.  (We are 8 hours ahead of US time).

So yes, we made it, I'm in Finland! We took a direct 12-hour flight from Cordoba, Argentina to Madrid, Spain, and then took a smaller Finn-Air plane to Helsinki.  Helsinki, the capital of Finland, is about 2 hours outside of Hanko.  Although the flights went smoothly, I am all sorts of messed up in my sleeping...!  I didn't get many zzzzz's on our 12-hour flight across the Atlantic...we left around 3pm Argentina time, and most folks had no interest in sleeping.  They treated the flight more like a party- visiting, drinking, even singing (!), and let their children run up and down the aisles.  Apparently they were not as determined as we were to get adjusted to European time.  I slept a bit on my second flight, and as I write this at 9:15 pm Finland time, I feel drowsy.  Hopefully I can sleep until the morning!

But before I go to bed, some pictures!  We stopped for dinner in a town called Tammisaari which was on the way into Hanko.  It is a very old town town right on the Baltic Sea, and similar to Hanko, draws in many visitors during the summer months.  The sun was setting as we walked down to the Sea, and I couldn't help but notice how quiet the town was.  The leaves have already begun changing colors, and with a high this afternoon of 22C (~71F), Helsinki broke a record.  It's not usually this warm here at the end of September.

Here are some others from Tammisaari...

A protestant church built in the 1600's, so beautiful! The church bell was ringing as we walked around it.

Many sailboats in the marina on the Baltic.  The water was surprisingly VERY clear, you could see 3-4 meters down to the bottom, and cold- maybe around 50F.

...and some pictures from the town. Very adorable. The streets were lined with many clothing stores and home decor stores that I would have loved to peak in of we had more time. Spanish and Italian food and fashion seem to be a large influence on the culture.  The homes in the town are all wooden, with large windows (triple-pane glass)!  For dinner we grabbed some food at a local pub, nothing fancy- and tried some Finnish beer.  Very satisfying.

Then we continued on to Hanko.  We drove past the plant and into town, were Filip lives and Osvaldo and I are staying in the hotel b8.  My room is adorable! Again, not at all like a hotel in the states.  It has much more character (and reminds me a lot of Ikea!). 

I am not going to mind staying here for a week.  The hotel receptionist does speak English, and was very friendly.  We can get breakfast here in the morning too. 

Because we spent Thursday and Friday traveling, we will be working in the plant over the weekend.  We won't be over doing it though- tomorrow we start at Noon with lunch, and a plant tour in the afternoon.  I am really looking forward to seeing the RBCs!  In the morning I should have some time to walk around Hanko, it was already dark when we arrived. 

In summary- a long but successful 2 days.  Now for sleep.  Goodnight!

Photo Diary of Arroyito

It is already my last night in Arroyito, we leave for Hanko tomorrow morning! 

For my post today, a photo tour through Arroyito.  As I mentioned previously, I am staying at hotel Xanes...shown below:

It is the one of the nicer hotels in the area: it accepts credit, has wireless internet, and a restaurant in the lobby that serves breakfast and dinner:

Like I mentioned before, the people working here don't speak english.  It has been challenging ordering meals from an all spanish menu, but Osvaldo has been around to translate much of the time.  In the morning, they keep bringing me orange juice (yuck!) even though I say 'solo cafe con leche!'. Its quite frustrating :)

And my room:

Very simple with two small beds.  Although they look stiff, they are actually very soft and comfortable.  I have not had any trouble sleeping here!  Above the second bed is a televison...the only channel that comes in English is MTV... I feel out of touch with American News!

The bathroom is actually quite nice too, no complaints.  Before I left Tyler hooked me up with all kinds of convertors and adaptors for the outlets, and they have all worked out well.  The only problem is they tend to overheat easily, so I take breaks every few minutes when blow drying my hair.  Hey, it could be worse!  The other challenge was the faucets...not H and C but F and C.  Don't get confused, C is not for cold but instead caliente! F is for frio (cold). Luckily I was forewarned about this!

Now to recap my last couple of days in pictures.  On Monday after work Filip and I spent some time walking around the town.  Unfortunetly, none of the stores accept credit or dollars, so no souvenirs from here.  We stopped at a grocery store to browse:

I found it strange to look around at familiar items with labels all written in a different language.  We also checked out the detergent section (of course!) to find Latin American brands by P&G and RCBK, two of our biggest customers.  The ingredients labels read 'enzimas'...!

We walked to find the town square, a church, and later wandered through some of the neighborhoods.  It is actually Spring here, about 78F and sunny, with all the trees in bloom.  It makes it hard to think about the snow we will get in Iowa in a few months...

There are some very nices homes in town...

...and some not so nice areas. 

There were many children playing near the street...and no stop signs in the roads (yikes!)

Also as I mentioned before, there are many stray dogs.  I was a bit nervous to be around them at first, but they dont pay any attention to passers by.  They have their own agendas.

This guy is just chillin'.

Everyone puts their garbage in these baskets out on the street.  I thought these people looked like they would be fun to spend time with...

...vino!

And this is the school that Osvaldo's girls attend, literally behind bars.

After work yesterday, we were invited to have dinner at Osvaldo's home.  It was one of the most interesting experiences I have ever had, memories I will never forget.  As an engineer in town, he has one of the nicer homes.  Beyond his front gate was a lit fountain, and stone walkway with beautiful tropical landscaping.  Inside the entryway and living room were also all in beautiful etched stone.  His wife and daughters (8 and 12) do not speak english, but were very friendly.  They greet by kissing on the cheek, and were very eager to take our coats.  Although much of the town seems poor and the citizens somewhat careless, this family is the opposite.  They are very proper, religious, and pure people, very kind at heart.  Osvaldo told us that he invited us to his home not only to offer his hospitlaity, but to show his daughters that the world is a big place.  He has high hopes for them, and is a very proud father. They were very curious to listen to us speak English, and got very excited if I spoke any words in Spanish, so adorable!

A formal dinner was set in the dining area, but we went outside to the terrace for a while before dinner.  It was also beautiful, quiet with a warm breeze and soft lighting.  They have a traditional Argentinian barbacue, which looks a lot like an Italian pizza oven.  He grilled beef and pork ribs for us, and some sasuage that I actually liked!  We drank wine with dinner, and had great conversations about work and the differences between our cultures.  The engineering manager from Arroyito also joined us, and has visited Chicago many times.  It was intriguing to hear his point of view on America!

Work has been going well, I am learning a lot about the RBC and how I can improve our process in Cedar.  I am very comfortable working with these people, although this was not something I could not picture myself doing a few years ago, (or actually a few weeks ago!). 

The RBC tower is the tallest structure in the town.  Unfortunetly I cannot post any pictures taken inside the plant, but here are some from the road:

The RBC is the tower on the left. 90 feet tall.  Lots of stairs!

Here we are (that is Osvaldo) this morning on our way into work!

Tonight we will have dinner out again, and then prepare to leave tomorrow by 9:30am.  My 12-hour flight to Madrid leaves around 1:00pm US time.  I hope that everything goes smoothly like our last trip!

I will check in when I arrive in Hanko! I think I am in store for something quite different from where we are now, but from what Filip has told me I am looking forward to it.

Some things on the agenda for the weekend and next week:

-  Checking in to the hotel b8, an old police station re-modeled

-  My first trip to the plant and 'granulation heaven' (they have 2 RBCs and 3 coaters our size)!

-  The GGRT meeting (Global Granulation Ring Team) that will take place Mon-Wed

-  A 'safari' on the Baltic Sea (I am promised there will be seals!)

...and much more.  I am starting to feel pretty homesick, but the pace of this trip is very fast.  I will be home in no time! Love you all, thanks for reading!



Destination #1: My first night and day at work in Argentina

I am writing this and it is already my second night staying at the hotel Xanes in Argentina.  The hotel is nothing like a hotel in the US, but it is perfect for my stay here. It has its own bathroom, and the beds although small are quite comfortable- check it out in the website listed below.

http://www.hotelxanaes.com.ar/

My pictures are nearly identical to the ones on the website. After checking in around 6pm yesterday, Osvaldo told us he would be back at 9:15 pm to get us for dinner.  The culture in Argentina dictates a later meal time, and Osvaldo has said anytime between 9:15 and 12 am is acceptable and common here.

Here we are in front of the restaurant:

And inside, we were the only guests...check out the wine in the back corner...

Sunday is a popular night to stay in to eat, so only a few restaurants are open.  The name of the place was "the castle" in Spanish, and was located in a very old building.  The town of Arroytio has exisited for over 300 years. We had the Argentina version of an antipasto plate for an appetizer, malbec wine (just like Auntie brought us!) and my meal for dinner was fantastic.  Braised chicken with this kind of corn and squash puree...I cant describe it exactly but would order it again!  Overall it is my impression that they eat well here.  After the long travels and a good meal, I slept very well.

Our hotel is right across from the plant, really we could walk there. Today however, Osvaldo picked us up in his neatly kept Toyota Corolla.  He says that Hondas "are for young people" and Toyotas "are for those over 40" (haha Tyler).  This is probably accurate here, where most of the young people drive around on honda mopeds. 

We ate breakfast at the hotel this morning, biscuits and cafe con leche (which is perfect for me, mostly milk with a bit of coffee :)  and left for the plant around 7:30.  When we were checking in, I saw the biggest spider I have ever seen in the wild. I had a freakout moment for sure as it sprinted across the sidewalk, I hope it is the only spider in all of Argentina.  We were given a proper tour of the plant, and a conference room to work in during our time here.  Everyone is VERY kind and warm.  The RBC (really big coater) that I am here to work with is incredible.  We spent most of the day discussing topics scheduled for our time here, and I continue to learn more about the process I have been working with for about 3.5 months now. 

I have to end this post because tomorrow I need to be ready at 5:40am...which gives me only about five hours of sleep...We are spending the day on the process floor, I am looking forward to it.

I spent the afternoon after work walking around the town and will post more pictures tomorrow.

Love you all!!

Destination #1: Arroyito, Argentina

Hola mi familia y mis amigos :)

I have had to dig up some long lost spanish skills from high school in the past few days!  At the hotel where I am staying in Arroyito, not one person speaks English.  When I checked in the hostess pulled up google translator to communicate the details of my stay.  Today, I mangaged to communicate to a shop owner that I was "here to work at the Genencor Plant", which here is pronounced Henencor.  I think that I might stand out a bit from the locals...

I am halfway across the world and farther away from home than I have ever been.

To quickly review my long travels, I started in Cedar on Saturday afternoon.  I am traveling with Filip Lundqvist, of Hanko, Finland, and Osvaldo Cordoni of Arroyito.  They are my engineering counterparts at their Henencor sites. We flew first to Dallas, and then boarded our 10 hour flight to Santiago, Chile. I have to say that I expected worse.  I was able to check in early in Cedar Rapids for the flight, and snagged seats for Filip and I in the exit row.  We had plenty of space, even for economy seating.  We had dinner on the flight (chicken and mashed potatoes), watched a movie, and then attempted to sleep.  The lights went off and the plane fell silent, and it wasn't all that bad.  It felt like a public slumber party with complete strangers, which was odd but kind of fun.  I was sleeping well when we hit our first turbulence.  It kind of felt like I was falling out of a dream, and then I woke up to realize we were actually falling.  I was terrified for all of 30 seconds, and then fell back to sleep when plane regained its route.

In the morning, they suddenly turn on all the lights and shove breakfast on your tray.  Good morning! they say over the speaker, Buenos Dias! wake up, its time to eat!...(and you don't have much time because we are landing soon)!.  Shortly after I had a moment where I was really caught off-guard, the passenger at the nearest window had opened the shade and right outside were the Andes Mountains...just breathtaking.  This is when I realized I was no longer in the Northern Hemisphere.

We spent five hours in the Airport in Santiago, Chile.  I bought some souvenirs in the gift shops and read a book while looking out the windows at the foggy Andes.  We ate a Ruby Tuesday and then boarded our plane to Cordoba, a small town in Argentina.  We flew over the Andes, which made the 2 hour jaunt fly by, no pun intended :)

After going through customs and retrieving our luggage (thank gosh)! we got into a taxi and drove two hours to Arroytio.  The roads are crazy! Everyone drives very fast.  The is a lot of poverty and garbage everywhere.  Random animals too. Many stray dogs, and horses and chickens.  The land is flat, and there were moments when staring out over the soy bean fields made me feel as if I was still in Iowa.

The town of Arroyito is more wealthy than the neighboring town.  Genencor and another manufacturing plant, Arcor, employs much of the 22,000 citizens.  I still have a lot to cover, but I am going to eat dinner first.  check back soon!
Love and miss you all.

The Big Day

Finally the day has come!
9:00- Wake up
9:30- Eat steak and eggs so kindly prepared by my amazing fiance

10:00- Head to Iowa City Post office to pick up a package

10:40- Still at the Iowa City post office.......

10:50- Head to the North Liberty post office to pick up my package that was never at the Iowa City Post Office

11:00- Packing packing packing &watching the Iowa Hawkeyes beat Louisiana Monroe! 
GO HAWKS!!!

 My plane leaves at 4:20 pm this afternoon, I will try to post after I arrive in my first destination, Arroyito, Argentina!